Waynesburg University alumna and WTOV-9 producer Jackalyn Kovac spoke Monday to Waynesburg's SPJ students and members of my journalism classes and offered advice for avoiding getting caught up in the spread of rumor and misinformation on Twitter and Facebook:

"Social media information is a tip, not a source, and it needs to be researched intensively," she said.

It's a common-sense tip that several major media outlets have apparently forgotten in recent months as they've passed on hoaxes and bad information culled from the Web.